Finding a creative Space

I have come to apprectiate having a good creative space to create in.  I actaully have found it to be needed in creating.  Having a creative space looks like two things for me.  First a space in my house to create, and secondly, a space in my schdule to create.

What to keep? dishes or paint?

Both of these can be challenging to achieve.  Allow me, if you will, to share some of my expereices with this.

Having a creative space in the home was something that was a very frustrating for me.  Once we had kids, I didn't seem to have a room to paint anymore. The spare room was filled with a crib, change tables, diapers, amd lots of little outfits, not to mention dim mood lighting which is not ideal for painting.  

So where to paint?  I set up an easel in the corner of my kitchen and used my kitchen table to draw and design on.  Along with that, every extra closet space availbale was filled with art supplies.  Our house, being an older house, has a total of 2 closets.  So you can only imagine the stuff that was falling out of the doors when I opened them.   I looked for every nook and cranny in the house and stuffed it with markers, papers, canvas, paints, brushes, plus bins of mixed media stuff.

That wasn't enough though.  I had accoumilated a ton of stuff! So I emptied out my buffet and hutch, ditched the dishes or found a home for them in my already packed cupboards, and moved a lot more art supplies into my kitchen.  I even emptied a row of cupboards and put more paints in.  Were we reaching for china or paints?  People were so generous and many times had seemed to drop of unwanted craft supplies that I was grateful to take off their hands!

All the art supplies were beginning to take over our small little home,  and then add another baby plus one more, and we had an over full house!  But with all these supplies, I was feeling quite inspired and decided to tackle furniture too.  I began to collect things bigger then paints, brushes, and canvas.  Old dressers and tables became a weakness to me.  And soon we had people offering them to me for a price I couldn't resist! FREE!  My husband will enjoy this part of the story.  Through all my collecting (and I don't see myself as a collector?) I was thinking to myself...well thinking out loud to Steve actually... that he has too much stuff!  All his papers were getting on my nerves!!! And then there were all of his instruments.  OK!  So this  will be music to his ears!  I was actually the one that had too much stuff!

        Collection of left over paint!                             My somewhat organized mess.

So we had to find a solution, because my art stuff wasn't leaving!  We then began to take some action, one step at a time.  We built another closet for clothes and shoes only.   Then we converted an old woodshed in our home into........Steve's music studio!  I know!  I thought art studio too!  But since he was making more money by teaching and I was doing a few workshops here and there in my kitchen, he won that space!

However my studio did come!  And let me say it was worth the wait!  After many frustrated times in the house from teaching classes with 8 kids in my kitchen, hosting our art group in our kitchen and me painting while looking at a stack of dishes, I prayed and prayed for an art studio!  And after a few years the doors opened for us to have a very large portable delivered on our property.  Hello Art Studio!  So glad you came!  In a very short time we emptied all supplies (well almost all) from the house and moved them into a 750 square foot space!  And guess what?  It's full.  I would even say too full!!!

So hopefull soon we are going to do some much need renovations on it because it needs a little creativity!  Be watching for the studio reno blog down the road.

There it is the new art studio! Needs a little TLC

Our yard needed a little TLC too after making a trench to hook up electicity for the studio.

But I am saying all of because it kind of drove me crazy not having a space to create in.  The kids were always around just being what they were...a baby and two toddlers!   So I always had them crawling up on my lap and into my stuff.  Made for interesting creations that's for sure.   My space wasn't overly inspiring for me even though my kitchen was full of colour, the potatoes cooking on the stove,  kids crying in the backround, and the phone ringing.  Often life would pull me way from what I was doing!  But it was a beginning to something more, and I am reminded not to despise small beginnings because God takes delight in them.  So I am glad it started like that!  Not because it gave me something to talk about now, but because it is a reminder of where I began and through that I learned.  I would like to say I learned to be content with what I had (but I think my husband may dispute that).

So this takes me to my second point.   Having a space in your schdeule to create.  Funny, even as I am desperately trying to finish this post, I just realized that I have not made a proper space to do this and the result is a lot of frustration!  So as I have mentioned before, if the kids are screaming in the background and the potatoes are burning on the stove,  then maybe I haven't made the space I need in my schedule.  So many times I have tried to fit some creative time in here and there and it ends up with me yelling STEVE! I NEED YOU NOW! and the stress level in our home rises!  I have somewhat learned (although after today I am not so sure) that it's important to plan a time and space in your day to create in (a creative date) that is uninterupted and peaceful, quiet and kid free.  Although there are many times you can create with children in the day, for me it was nesseray to also have a time to create without them.  Love them, but every mommy needs a break!
Ok, I must run!  My lunch is burning in the oven and the children are screaming!

Supper burning while painting may indicate that it's not the best time to let the creative juices flow

My creative space for writing my children's book